Pharmacy driver steals costly medicine

A Pakistani driver at a pharmacy, who indirectly revealed himself as the thief of Dh27,113 worth of medicine, was sentenced to six months in jail.

The Dubai Criminal Court of First Instance also ordered SM, 29, to be deported after serving his jail term.

After special type of medicine worth Dh27,113 went missing, Egyptian pharmacist, AA, 60, asked all staffers about it.

“None of the workers knew anything about the medicine which I had recently purchased for a supplier. However, CCTV recordings showed the driver, who is usually assigned to transport medicine, holding medicine bags in addition to a garbage sack while getting out of the pharmacy.

Asking him about what was in the garbage sack, he answered that he took it to put it in the bin,” said the pharmacist, who was unconvinced with the driver’s answer as the CCTV recording showed that apparently medicine boxes were inside the sack, not garbage.

The pharmacist decided to hold a meeting of all the staff including the driver to inform them that he will forgive whoever took the medicine if he returns them.

After the pharmacist informed this to his staff, the driver commented: “What is the guarantee that he will forgive me if I return the stolen medicine?”

The pharmacist thought the driver had indirectly confessed to his crime by saying this. The pharmacist lodged a police complaint against his driver, SM, 29.

Police confiscated from the driver’s accommodation some medicines, a massage machine and other pharmaceutical products.

When confronted, the driver blamed the assistant pharmacist for the missing medicine, claiming that the latter had asked him to take the garbage sack which was filled with medicines. He also claimed that the assistant pharmacist gave him the massage machine and other pharmaceutical items confiscated from his house.

The assistant pharmacist denied the driver’s claim, assuring that nothing can be released from the pharmacy without a prescription or purchase invoice.